Wednesday, 13 May 2015

My Obsessions #3

"You cannot intellectualize yourself out of obsession. You cannot cure yourself of it."

Nicolas Roeg

Welcome my this week's Miscellaneous Tuesday post... which just so happens to be being posted on a Wednesday. I've been having pretty bad headaches a lot lately and I've just been completely shattered. Still, I didn't want to completely sack off Tuesday's post so here it is, a day late. Today's blog is another My Obsessions post and this week I'm introducing you to my Wyrm and Wyrven collection!

The creatures above are the work of Hopeful Monster Studios. This is kind of an old obsession. I think the last time I got one was maybe three years ago now. It doesn't feel like that much time has passed though. When I first started my collection the sculptor took custom commissions and sold premade wyrms at conventions in the US. I just thought they were adorable and unique. I'm also a sucker for anything custom. The first ones I got were these three.

The blue and white one is a custom based on a character I have and the black and green one is based on a character my ex had. Although it was technically his, I always kept them together. So obviously I got to keep them when we broke up. These ones are pipe fox wyrms. At this point I don't think the sculptor made customs as small as this little guy.

But as far as I remember when I said I wanted them to have a baby that combined their traits she thought that was a cute idea and I guess this little'n became a prototype for a smaller version. It came in a little green plastic egg. I thought that was such a cool touch.

Over time things evolved and the sculptor made it into a game. She made different species and breeds, some common, uncommon and some rare. Different sizes. Instead of getting straight customs, you could breed yours with someone else's to try and get different looks. Each wyrm came with an info card telling you about them and also how many breedings you could use. She said up a register and a form called Cruinndrac Farms so people could check out other people's wyrms, see who was open for breeding and basically build a community of wyrm 'handlers'. She'd also make little clay eggs of different colours and then sell the eggs off and the wyrm you would get would be a surprise. You know how much I love blind bags. I couldn't find the little eggs I got but here's the cards.

So now that I've explained a bit about how I started collecting them and what they are, I'll introduce you to my other wyrms.

Findlay

This one is another custom one and one of my later wyrms. I'm not actually sure this one is considered a wyrm because it has legs, but oh well. I asked her for a big wyrm based on my cat Findlay and she jumped at the chance as she'd had a old cat that was very similar to my boy. I think she caught Findlay perfectly. As he is a custom he is not part of the breeding game.

Dapple is a wyrm I bred. Pippy is her mum! Her dad was owned by the sculptor and was rare so I got lucky and ended up with an uncommon wyrm! I called her dapple because of the little white marks on her face.

Gorm was left over convention stock that the sculptor gifted me along with one of my orders. I was so surprised when he turned up in the box. I just loved his colouring and his derpy face. I imagine him to be really slow but really sweet.

Crystal
Crystal was a surprise from my ex and arrived along with Gorm if I remember correctly. She was also left over convention stock. I just thought she was so pretty. I also love things with different coloured eyes. I named her Crystal because my aunt used to have a long haired white cat called Crystal when I was a kid. I was so in awe of her, even if she wasn't the sweetest. I feel like that's how this Crystal would be too.

Vally

Vally was a limited valentines wyrm. She made a few of them and sold them off. They weren't part of the breeding game though. It's kind of a shame as I think she's so pretty. She was the first one that didn't arrive perfectly. One of her horns had gotten broken in transit from the US. However I was able to glue it back on and I think she looks as good as new!

Danke
Lastly we have Danke the wyrven. Wyvens are different in the fact they have legs at the front and I guess wings. I'm not sure if any pure wyrms have wings. They are a hyrbid and Danke's mum was Dapple and her dad was a little sculpted dragon called Skyreach. Later in the game the sculptor decided to combine the game with another sculptor who made little dragons. I'd have liked to get my hands on a little dragon too but I never got around to it. For Danke's breeding I also lent Dapple to Skyreach's handler so Danke is a twin, but they look very different. Her twin is called Nocturne.

And that was the last wyrm or wyrven I purchased. Buying them and having them shipped safely from the US was not cheap and as more and more people joined the game it got harder to come by them anyway. The sculptor's work load was so big she had to bring other people on board to help. She's still got a helluva long waiting list she's making her way through and these aren't her only art and craft work she does. I feel lucky to have found them when I did so I had a chance to get my little wyrm/wyven family when I did. Perhaps I'll have the chance to add to it in the future. I would love to breed from Crystal some day. Perhaps with Gorm.

Another little taste of her work is these lovely little guys. They're sculpted critter clips (just my name for them). I believe originally the little rodent one was on hold for someone else so I was going to buy the donkey. He had ears at the time. However the rodent came off hold so she offered it to me. I felt bad leaving the donkey behind after saying I would buy him. Not for the sculptor, for the donkey. I know, I'm weird. Anyway, because I bought the other two and she was trying to get rid of old convention stock she sent me the pony too! The donkey had ears when it arrived but it fell once and they broke off. I have one of them in safe keeping, but sadly I misplaced the other. I still think he's adorable though.

I hope you enjoyed this belated miscellaneous Tuesday post and a glimpse at another one of my many obsessions. I have these guys displayed in my display case and it felt nice getting them out for once and spending some time with them.

Howdy, I'm Sara but most call me Bloo. I'm 28 and live in N. Ireland. Here and on YouTube (link), you'll find a wide variety of topics relating to my life, my pets (meet them here!), my hobbies and living with Muscular Dystrophy. Aside from animals, I enjoy arts, crafts and reading. Thanks for stopping by!